Ten Little Hunters
by Cardinal67
Summary: A killer sits among ten of our favorite RWBY characters. Can they survive the night trapped in a building with them? Can you find out who among them it is? Join us in our Ten Little Roosters inspired story and get your inner detective on!
1. Their Lives on the Line

**Ten Little Hunters**

* * *

><p>Blake exited the airship quietly, not particularly excited about coming to Professor Oobleck's demonstration during her break, least of all when it required her to shuttle to Vale in the wee hours of the morning. Still, it could be much worse; given who it was she was traveling with.<p>

"I don't understand why it is we couldn't have had this on the Academy's grounds?" Weiss drowsily nagged as the duo neared the address in Vale's south-east quadrant.

Yes, perhaps the only silver-lining to the entire situation was that Blake had at least one friend to travel with, Yang and Ruby having elected to return to Patch for the break and JNPR similarly returning to the homes with the exception of Pyrrha.

"Neither do I." Blake agreed, checking the remaining building's addresses, "But we easily could have asked."

"Mmmm." Weiss grumbled as they finally found the building and opened the door, surprised to find several other familiar faces waiting inside.

* * *

><p>"Hello Miss Belladonna, Miss Schnee!" The energetic green-haired man said excitedly, "I'm very happy to see you two arrived safely, please join the other guests and we may begin!"<p>

The duo nodded slowly and moved to follow the teacher, seeing more students than they'd anticipated present. In addition to the two girls and Oobleck, present to the event were Cardin who was speaking to the silver-haired boy who'd challenged Pyrrha and his mint-haired friend, Pyrrha who was speaking with Velvet, Neptune interestingly enough, and...

"Penny?" Blake said, confused to find the girl here.

"Hello, Blake!" Penny said with incredible energy, "How are you? Is Ruby with you?"

"Uhh no…" The cat-faunus said slowly to Penny's disappointment, "Just me and Weiss. Speaking of which, Weiss, aren't you gonna- Weiss?" She repeated, finding her teammate missing from her side.

"Oh, she's over there by the boy with blue hair." Penny said happily, pointing to Neptune who was speaking now with Weiss.

"_And… She leaves me with the robot." _Blake silently remarked to herself, considering stealing back Weiss before Oobleck began to spea-

"And with Miss Schnee and Belladonna here, we may begin!" Oobleck loudly spoke from room's stage.

"_Never mind…"_

* * *

><p>The room quickly became silent as the 9 guests took their seats and turned to Oobleck, Blake taking a seat at a table with Penny, Velvet, and unfortunately Cardin.<p>

"I'm sure many of you are wondering why it is I have invited you here today!" The energetic professor said loudly to the small crowd, "And I assure you it is of utmost importance." The professor's boisterous smile shrank and voice turned serious,

*Ahem*

"Equality. Equality is what I am here to talk to you all about. Specifically the equality of Faunus and Humanity."

A loud groan could be heard from Cardin at the Professor's words, eliciting a glare from Blake, Neptune, and Pyrrha.

The eccentric professor ignored this, "As I am sure all of you know, Faunus as a whole are horribly mistreated and abused by us humans. And it is for that reason that I have called all of you here today!" He took a deep sip from his thermos before continuing.

"Each and every one of you has been in some way affected by the Faunus' struggles. Some of you are friends with Faunus," He glanced at Neptune, "Others have lived it." A short glance towards Velvet carried his message clearly, "Some unfortunately have even aided in it." A hard frown found itself directed squarely at Cardin.

Cardin ignored Oobleck's gaze and wryly smiled, "You hear that, freak?" He said in a voice that could hardly be called a whisper, "He's heard about the two of us."

Velvet nervously shifted in her seat while Blake and Pyrrha shot glares at Cardin. "What's the matter bun bun?" He continued, "Gonna have the underclassmen over there fight your battles?"

Oobleck's frown deepened, "Mister Winchester." He said slowly, pulling the auburn-haired boy's focus once more, "If you are quite done antagonizing Miss Scarlatina, I feel you will find especial value in what I am saying." He delivered with a calm voice that masked the growing irritation.

"Of course Doctor, we were just kidding around." He smugly replied, casting a cheshire smile to the older professor.

Oobleck's gaze narrowed but he decided against pursuing the conversation… For now. "As I was saying, we as a group represent all sides of this issue. Each side's victims and each side's guilty parties sit in this room tonight."

Blake couldn't help but feel her grip suddenly tighten at the mention of _EACH _side's guilty parties. Surely he was referring to Cardin in terms of Human aggressors but Velvet hardly embodied Faunus aggression...

"No side is wholly innocent in this matter. Humans for having long subjected the Faunus to cruel second-class behavior, and some Faunus for having resorted to Terrorism in retaliation for their mistreatment."

"We all must cast aside our past sins and forget the pains we have endured if we wish to move forward!"

"_Move forward? Those animals should be eradicated." _Cardin angrily thought to himself, a growing expression of disgust and disapproval spread across his features.

"If nobody else is willing to move forward, we must be the first! We must all work together to ensure a future worth living in! One where Humans and Faunus may coexist not as one master and one subject! But as two equals!"

Oobleck took a long sip of his drink, nearly emptying the large thermos, and returned his attention to the crowd, "That is why I have called you all here today. I ask you all to join me in helping set a model for the world to follow! To-"

A string of coughs interrupted Oobleck's speech, momentarily stopping the Professor.

"To allow-"

Further coughs erupted from the hunter, causing several confused glances and stares to be sent around the room.

"To-"

"Professor?" Both Pyrrha and Weiss asked nervously.

Oobleck fell forward to his knees, still coughing and now clutching one arm to his neck and dropping his thermos.

"Professor!" Now the entire group sans Mercury, Emerald, and Neptune yelled. Pyrrha and Velvet now rushing forward towards the choking man.

Pyrrha reached him first, quickly falling beside the now silent teacher and checking his pulse.

The remainder of the crowd had by now risen to their feet , tensely awaiting Pyrrha's word.

After a moment of silence, Pyrrha spoke, her voice soft and sweet, a dark contrast to the grim news that would follow, "He's gone." She said, still kneeling beside the fallen teacher as Velvet moved closer and examined his thermos.

* * *

><p>"We need to get out of here and call someone." Neptune said immediately, pulling out his scroll as Emerald and Mercury walked towards the doors.<p>

Weiss similarly pulled out her scroll as the two partners, now joined by Cardin, neared the door. "Low Signal." Weiss said dryly as she read the large red text from her screen, _"Guess option one is out."_

"The door's locked." Came the voices of both Cardin and Mercury, the duo currently occupied with attempting to somehow beat down the large metal door without any weapons.

Both Blake and Pyrrha watched in confusion at the madness surrounding them. They were trapped here. With no way to call for help, and no way to get outside.

"Aconite..." Velvet said quietly, sniffing at Oobleck's dropped thermos.

"What was that?" Blake asked.

"Aconite." She repeated, "It's a poisonous plant we learned about in Professor Peach's Botany class this year." The timid bunny said, "It's almost untraceable and makes someone suffocate if you touch it."

"Meaning…?" Said Neptune, fully focused on Velvet.

"It means…" She said quietly, "It means this was planned."

* * *

><p>The room was silent save for the occasional bang from the doors courtesy of Cardin and Mercury, the two still having yet to learn that their fists and feet alone would not be enough to break down a metal door.<p>

After several seconds of processing this bit of information, someone spoke, "How do we know it was planned? Could he have just mixed them in by accident?" Blake asked.

Velvet shook her head, "No. They're poisonous to the touch. Besides, they're very rare so I doubt he'd have them on hand often enough to accidently mix them up."

The group returned to silence, even the beating against the door having stopped as the two boys realized the uselessness of the effort.

However the silence was soon broken by the voice of Penny. The ginger girl having explored more of the main hall while the remaining guests spoke to Velvet. "I found something!" She said with an innapropriate amount of enthusiasm for the situation, "It's a note!"

"Let me see." Blake said as the ginger-girl returned to the larger group, taking the piece of paper from her and turning it to read aloud for the whole group.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Honored Guests,<em>

_I hope you all enjoyed the show, it was terribly difficult to pull off. But you see now that He's gone, we can begin. I would like to play a game with you all, the rules are very simple: Solve my riddle and figure out which one of you I am, and you live. Don't, and you'll all die one by one. Let's begin. Oh, and don't bother trying to escape,. As I'm sure you've all seen, I've taken the liberty of locking down the building. Good Luck._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Ten Little Hunters<em>**

Ten little hunters, their lives on the line

One choked under pressure and then there were nine

**0 0 0**

Nine little hunters, none willing to wait

One learned the hard way and then there were eight

**0 0 0**

Eight little hunters, two lost to the heavens

One stumbled along and then there were seven

**0 0 0**

Seven little hunters, three needing a fix

One's torment ended and then there were six

**0 0 0**

Six little hunters just trying to survive

Another fell apart and then there were five

**0 0 0**

Five little hunters, one scared to the core

One was too sweet and then there were four

**0 0 0**

Four little hunters, one still running free

One lost it all and then there were three

**0 0 0**

Three little hunters unsure what to do

One lost their shine and then there were two

**0 0 0**

Two little hunters, one's work nearly done

Their plan came unraveled and then there was one.

* * *

><p>Blake felt a lump form in her stomach as she finished reading. <em>"This is all a game to somebody." <em>Was Blake's immediate thought, _"They killed a seasoned huntsman like it was nothing."_

Nobody spoke for a short time after Blake finished, each person at varying speeds coming to terms that somebody around them was a killer.

"It was… One of us…" Weiss said slowly.

"And now we're trapped inside with a killer…" Neptune continued.

"And the only way we escape is to solve the riddle… With one of us working against us..." Velvet finished.

Each person in the group turned and looked at each guest, seeds of doubt having been sowed into their thoughts. Any one of these people could have killed Oobleck, were going to kill _Them!_ The only person they could trust was themselves.

* * *

><p>"Fuck this." Mercury said, moving towards the hallway away from the group, "I'm finding a way out of here."<p>

"No, we're all sticking together." Neptune said, "If we split up, we're easier targets. Besides, the note said the building's locked down."

Mercury ignored much of this, and turned to Neptune, "Tell you what, pretty boy. Just _TRY_ and stop me. See what happens." He returned his attention to the door, "Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to get out of here. Sayonara."

And with that, he was gone. Slowly the other's followed his example, Emerald and Cardin being the first two to also leave the group. Eventually Weiss, Neptune, and Velvet left. Pyrrha disappeared soon after as well, along with Penny. Slowly the group dwindled and shrank until it was only Blake left in the Main Hall. Soon even she left the room, uncomfortable at the idea of being alone with the doctor's corpse.

Nine little hunters now divided and afraid, cut off from one another and the rest of the world.

Somewhere in the halls of this building, a killer bided their time, watching their prey squabble and shake, just waiting for the perfect time to strike.

* * *

><p><em>Ten little hunters, their lives on the line<em>

_One choked under pressure and then there were nine_


	2. None Willing to Wait

**A/N: Before we begin, I should address one thing. The hints in the poem regarding who will be killed may be based off of things I say in this story or references to the actual show. However I may attempt mislead you all in terms of what I say in this story or what I refer to. So tread carefully and best of luck. **

* * *

><p>The mint-haired girl entered the small room quickly, scanning the room for any emergency exits or similar routes she could use to get out of the building.<p>

To her luck, Emerald found one such door, clearly marked and just waiting to free her. As she turned the handle, the thief paused as she felt the handle remain locked in place. Another shake proved fruitless.

"What the hell!?" She yelled out, "Who designs an emergency exit that doesn't open!?" She loudly berated, barely even noticing the quiet opening and closing of the door to her room and entrance of a tall figure. Fortunately for Emerald, she knew who this was.

"Oh look, the runner returns." Emerald said snarkily, turning around to face the figure that had entered the room she currently occupied.

Mercury smiled, "Cute." He said, moving closer towards his partner, "What you call running, I call taking initiative." He bit back, smiling cheekily.

"Fair enough," She said dismissively, "Though you sorta outed yourself by doing that." She said, a trivial amount of worry having entered her voice. "It kinda made you a target and I doubt people here are in a trusting mood."

Mercury shook his head, "We'll be fine." He said, "Let's just get the hell out of here."

Emerald's smile dropped slightly, "Right… About that…" She began, "This building is locked down pretty tight, I doubt we'll be able to get out through the front door."

Mercury's grin didn't waver, "Well, guess we'll have to find our own way out." He said, moving towards the door, "Let's say I check upstairs, you check down here? Great... Have fun!" He quickly said, leaving the room before any debate could be had.

Several seconds passed after Mercury left before Emerald realized what had just happened.

"...Asshole." She said, realizing that he'd just ditched her once again.

* * *

><p>As the two partners were beginning their own quest, several other guests were also forming their own plans to escape the building. Others however were looking for other guests in the hope of finding someone they could trust.<p>

One such student was Neptune Vasilias, who after having left the Main Hall like so many other students, now regretted his decision as he desperately looked for anyone with whom he could team up with until this was all over. Namely, one white-haired heiress.

"Dust dammit." Neptune quietly repeated to himself as he moved throughout the second floor, looking desperately for a mean of escape, "Who the hell designed this place, it's a freaking labyrinth!"

"The Arotz family actually," An eager voice said from behind the blue-haired boy, both surprising and terrifying him.

"Oh Monty, please don't hurt me!" Neptune immediately screamed as he jumped in surprise.

"Why would I do that?" The voice asked innocently, causing Neptune to cautiously open his eyes and face the person.

"Hello!" Penny said waving at the startled boy, "And to answer your question the Arotz family designed this building as well as much of the surrounding area following Vale's Late Industrial Reviv-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Neptune said, stopping the ginger girl, "It's Penny right?"

The ginger-robot nodded, "Penny Polendina! Happy to make your acquaintance!" She said eagerly.

"Right…" Neptune said, looking over the girl and trying to judge whether he could trust her or not, "Well Penny, do you want to…" He paused briefly, still nervous, "Team up? That way we're in less danger?"

Penny's brow briefly furrowed, "I don't know, are you my friend?" She asked.

"Uh…" He stammered, _"This girl is weird." _He thought, slightly regretting his choice, "Sure… Let's be friends…"

Penny's mood immediately bounced back, "Sensational!" She cheered, "Now let's find my friends Weiss and Blake too. Then we can have a full team!"

"Sure..." Neptune said, unsure how he felt about his new friend, "Lead the way."

* * *

><p>"Who the hell designs a building like this?" Cardin questioned, having once again reached an exit that had been locked. "There's gotta be a way to turn this shit off."<p>

"Maybe," Somebody said from behind him, "But I doubt the killer would let us out that easily." They said.

Cardin turned around at the sudden noise, grinning slightly at his new guests, "Oh look who it is!" He said lightly, "A Schnee. My, my, what an honor!"

Weiss' scowl grew at the remark, "Yes, a Schnee." She said slowly, "Specifically a Schnee that wants to get out of this situation alive. And as much as I hate to be associated with you, there is a strength in numbers."

Cardin's grin grew, "Oh what a marvelous plan!" He bellowed out in a mocking tone, "And as truly genius as it is, I think I'll take my chances." He said, turning back from them.

"But if you're alone and they-" Pyrrha began to say, attempting to coax the boy to change his mind.

"I think I'll be able to handle anybody in here." He said arrogantly, "Besides, how do I know you aren't the killer?"

"What a preposterous notion." Weiss said dismissively, "Why would I do something like this?"

Cardin shrugged, "I don't know, but you seem awfully relaxed seeing as we all might die. It makes me wonder."

Weiss' scowl deepened even further, "Very well," She said, "Best of luck on your own."

Cardin smiled, "You too Ice Queen." He said as she walked away, "You too."

* * *

><p>"What an idiot." Mercury said quietly, sneaking away from where Cardin was. <em>"Who the hell willingly pisses off a Schnee… Besides the White Fang." <em>He questioned internally, following Weiss from afar.

"_I wonder how much Cinder would pay to get rid of her?" _He questioned sadistically as he followed from a distance, _"Maybe I can get paid and get out of here in one sitting."_

That particular question would have to wait as Mercury looked forward and realized that Weiss had disappeared from Pyrrha's side during his internal monologue.

"Now Where, Oh where, has my little Schnee gone?" He sang quietly, moving even more slowly as he hunted the heiress, leaving Pyrrha for now.

Several minutes of clandestine searching followed for Mercury as he explored the second floor in search of the Icy Heiress to no avail.

"Son of a bitch." He said, admitting defeat and returning to his search for an escape to this improvised prison.

"Looking for somebody?" A voice said from behind him, startling Mercury.

"The hell? Don't sneak up on-" He began in an irritated voice only to be silenced as the figure knocked him to the ground with a large board, rendering him unconscious.

* * *

><p>When Mercury came to, he immediately could tell something was wrong. In addition to having just been bludgeoned into unconsciousness, the slim boy was no longer able to move freely, his limbs having been tied to what he quickly realized were respectively the arms and legs of a chair.<p>

As the boy was struggling to free himself, he stopped as he heard the faint click of footsteps coming from behind him.

"Hello?" He couldn't help but ask, a voice at the back of his mind painfully aware of who it must have been.

The clicking stopped and Mercury allowed himself a small grin, _"If I can get out of here, I can put an end to this right now." _He realized. "Well seeing as I have your attention, would you mind untying me?" He asked, still slowly attempting to loosen the cords holding him through blunt force.

However rather than the voice of his captor as he'd expected, Mercury was instead treated to a refreshing blast of a large bucket of water as it was emptied onto his head.

As the last of the water soaked into his clothing and his own person, Mercury frowned, "Well… That seemed excessive." Mercury said quietly, "So what's next, gonna open a window? Give me pneumonia?"

"Stop talking." His captor ordered from behind his back, their first words to Mercury since they'd caught him.

"Oh, so you can speak?" He mocked as he felt the figure attach something to his person, "This is good! This is very, very good! You know, I know a girl who has the same problem. HATES talking to people! Maybe I could introduce you two if you'd untie me?"

Silence served as his answer, his captor still busying themselves behind him as he spoke, "Alright, I get it. Not much of a people person, that's fine. Perfectly fine. Maybe we can play a game instead, how 'bout twenty questions?" He asked oddly cheerily given his position.

A cloud click suddenly sounded from behind the boy, ending his prior mocking briefly as he tried in vain to see what was going on behind him, "Having fun back there? Got something to show the rest of the class?

The figure began to walk around to face the still bound Mercury, holding something in their hands as the bent down to his eye level, "Do you know what I learned recently?" They asked the cocky mercenary, "Apparently it doesn't take much power at all to kill somebody. Just 50 milliamps and *Poof* you're gone."

Mercury felt an uncommon fear take hold of him, his attempts at breaking his restraints having doubled. "That's… Interesting. Any reason why you're telling me this?" He asked, his eyes darting between his captor and the stubborn bindings which refused to release him.

Slowly the figure smiled at Mercury, "Well it's interesting, isn't it? I kinda want to test that." Mercury watched as his captor moved their hands to show him something. "Don't you?" They said, brandishing a live electrical wire they'd just 'acquired' from the wall. Accounting for the noises Mercury had heard only moments before.

A series of nervous chuckles escaped from Mercury as he feverishly worked at his restraints, "Y-You know, I think I'll pass."

"Oh come on!" They said happily, moving the wire closer to the drenched mercenary, "You said you wanted to play a game, I'll even let you go first!"

A cold sweat began to grace Mercury's forehead as they moved ever closer, "N-No. it's fine. I-I don't want to play anymore!"

The game enthusiast moved behind Mercury, "That's too bad." They said, giving him a moment of relief. "But I'm sure you'll enjoy it once we get started." They said in a voice hardly above a whisper, leaning into the boy's ear.

The words barely reached Mercury's ears before the wire connected with him. His body's muscles immediately tensing as the electrical flow entered his body.

The killer smiled sadistically as they watched Mercury's body slowly die, every nerve in his body malfunctioning from the unwelcome electrical introduction. A vulgar smile graced the killers lips as they moved away from the corpse, "Learning sure is fun, isn't it?" They said to themselves quietly as they left the room, a light spring to their step.

"Now don't you go anywhere." They chuckled, walking lightly down the hallway, not a care in the world, "I'm sure someone will be along shortly."

* * *

><p><em>Nine little hunters, none willing to wait<em>

_One learned the hard way and then there were eight_

* * *

><p><strong>"Learning is SO MUCH Fun." - Mercury Black<strong>

**Also, the story will be delayed by quite a bit as writing this story has lost a bit of the charm in lieu of the recent news regarding Monty.**

**Rest In Peace Monty**


	3. Poem

**A/N: As something of an apology for the next chapter taking so long, here's the poem on its own for anybody to view if they'd like. Also, thank you all for your continued support of this little endeavor of mine**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Ten Little Hunters<strong>

_Ten little hunters, their lives on the line_

_One choked under pressure and then there were nine_

_0 0 0_

_Nine little hunters, none willing to wait_

_One learned the hard way and then there were eight_

_0 0 0_

_Eight little hunters, two lost to the heavens_

_One stumbled along and then there were seven_

_0 0 0_

_Seven little hunters, three needing a fix_

_One's torment ended and then there were six_

_0 0 0_

_Six little hunters just trying to survive_

_Another fell apart and then there were five_

_0 0 0_

_Five little hunters, one scared to the core_

_One was too sweet and then there were four_

_0 0 0_

_Four little hunters, one still running free_

_One lost it all and then there were three_

_0 0 0_

_Three little hunters unsure what to do_

_One lost their shine and then there were two_

_0 0 0_

_Two little hunters, one's work nearly done_

_Their plan came unraveled and then there was one._


	4. Two Lost to the Heavens

**A/N: Apologies for the lateness of this chapter, there will be more information as to why at the bottom.**

* * *

><p>"-nd my father said not to go out but I snuck away anyway and that's how I met Ruby!" Penny said, recounting her daunting escape from her father months earlier via walking out the back door and her subsequent first encounter with Team RWBY to Neptune.<p>

"_God, are you there? Please, help!" _Neptune thought to himself, as he lamented his decision to partner with Penny.

"That was actually how I met all of Team RWBY! Except for Blake, I actually didn't get to see her until MUCH later. Not until after we met Mr. Torchwick!" She continued, oblivious to Neptune's growing regret, "But then my father picked me up and I couldn't see them again for awhi-"

Penny's narration of the last two episodes of Volume One was cut off however as the building's lights noticeably dimmed, drawing the attention of several party guests.

"The hell?" Neptune questioned, glancing at the lights as their power fluctuated.

The lights remained dimmed for a short time after before they returned to normal. Under normal circumstances, this would not have worried any guest, however the… Threatening atmosphere of the building and the odd behavior of lights were more than enough to draw suspicion and worry from the guests.

"What do you suppose that was?" Penny asked, a slight concern in her voice.

"I don't know." Neptune said, "I'm gonna go upstair and find out, keep looking for other people."

"Shouldn't I go with you." Penny interjected quickly, "It could be dangerous."

Neptune's mind briefly considered the danger he was posed but then was reminded of Penny's long narration, "It's fine, I can handle it I think. Just find someone you trust."

"But-" Before the ginger-haired robot could voice any further protest, Neptune disappeared in a flash after the source of the disturbance.

* * *

><p><strong><em>*Tick* *Tock* <em>**

**_*Tick* *Tock* _**

**_*Tick* *Tock* _**

**_*Tick* *Tock*_**

The dull sounds of the clock made it horribly difficult to think.

**_*Tick* *Tock* _**

**_*Tick* *Tock*_**

The low noise continued to bore it's way into Emerald's skull and she found herself furrowing her eyes and begin rubbing her temples in an attempt to ease the growing headache.

***Tick* *Tock***

***Tick* *Tock***

"Fucking hell!" She eventually snapped, irritated by constant dull noise from the clock, ""Who the hell designs a clock to be so loud!?"

"Hello?" Came a soft voice from the room's entrance, startling Emerald.

The mint-haired girl cast her gaze towards the source of the sound and found she was no longer alone, instead she was now accompanied by the bunny-eared Faunus whose name she'd yet to learn.

"What do you want?" Was her immediate response to Velvet's presence.

"I..." Velvet began, slightly cut off by the directness of the question, "I was just wondering if you'd like to group up? There's strength in numbers."

Emerald smiled, "Maybe, but the strength slightly fades away if one of your teammates stabs you in the back, doesn't it?"

Velvet appeared undeterred by Emerald's aversion to an alliance, "Maybe, but if we sit around terrified of each other we'll just get picked off one by one."

"Maybe _YOU_ will. Personally, I don't know or trust any of you; And I'm much more confident in my odds _WITHOUT _you people." Emerald said, "Now are you done? Or maybe you want a carrot?" She added bitterly, hoping to make the bunny-girl disappear as quickly as possible.

A flash of offence and anger came across Velvet's face at the racist remark and her face shrank to a frown, "No. I think I'll just find someone else to team up with." She said bitterly, leaving Emerald alone once more.

The mint-haired girl gave Velvet a bittersweet smile and returned to her lonesome thoughts.

**_*Tick* *Tock*_**

"..."

**_*Tick* *Tock*_**

"..."

**_*Tick* *Tock*_**

"God dammit." Emerald said, getting up from her sat position and leaving the room behind, unable to handle the deafening silence another moment.

* * *

><p>Neptune slowly moved throughout the second floor, darting between various rooms as he searched for anything that could account for the odd power disturbance earlier.<p>

The blue-haired boy had just about given up hope and was prepared to return to Penny empty-handed when he heard a quiet voice from the end of the hallway.

"-ick next…" Neptune heard from further down the hallway.

"_The hell?" _He silently questioned, vaguely recognizing the voice and moving closer towards its source.

"Mercury was easy but the rest are gonna be on guard after this..." The voice continued, completely unaware of Neptune's presence, "It'll have to be someone stupid..."

"Who the hell..." Neptune began to whisper to himself from around the corner before tripping with absolutely perfect timing, revealing his presence to the clearly startled speaker.

"Uhh..." He began, quickly trying to find an excuse for his eavesdropping as the figure turned to him, their eyes bulging at his sudden appearance.

Unfortunately such an excuse never came, _"Hmm…" _The person to whom Neptune had been listening to thought, their face proclaiming at false sense of fear at Neptune's unintended appearance, _"It seems we have a volunteer."_

* * *

><p>After a tense 5 seconds of silence that seemed to last an eternity for Neptune; The voice, their face still displaying an expression of terror, began a mad dash down the hallway away from Neptune and around a corner.<p>

"Hey!" Neptune called, quickly rushing to his feet and breaking into a mad sprint after them.

As Neptune rounded the corner, he paused for just a moment and looked ahead. Before him was the killer, just sat at the very top of the stair railing. Giving him the cheeriest smile he'd ever seen.

A brief moment passed, and Neptune desperately thought of something to say. "Freeze!" He decided on with a stutter, "Junior Detective!"

Unsurprisingly, they did not heed his command, and Neptune instead received a cursory wave and a painfully sweet smile from his suspect as they slid down the banister of the stairs.

"Hey!" Neptune instinctively yelled once more, sprinting down the hallway towards the stairs and giving chase once more.

* * *

><p>Were Neptune actually deserving of his title of Junior Detective, he may have questioned why it is his target hadn't made any attempt to escape down the stairs prior to his arrival despite being sat directly beside them and instead waited for him before leaving.<p>

Were he more observant, he may have noticed the very fine but VERY sturdy wire that ran the length of the stairs.

Had he noticed this, he may have been able to stop himself before his feet caught on the metal cord.

But unfortunately Neptune was not nearly that observant. And he did not see the cord. And so, as the blue haired boy neared his target, he felt his feet catch and he began to stumble and fall forward… Directly down the stairs.

* * *

><p>As the blue haired boy began his rapid descent downwards, the person responsible for his unexpected drop couldn't help but sigh, "Unbelievable. I have all these intricate plans and methods but all it takes for you is a bit of wire…" They said somewhat disappointedly, moving from their position towards the base of the stairs, "How the hell did you plan on fighting Grimm? Falling on them and crushing them?"<p>

To the speaker's surprise, they saw a small amount of movement coming from the base of the stairs, causing them to raise their eyebrow, their interest piqued.

The budding psychopath's face became a small, sad frown as they listened to the pained sounds coming from the boy and watched as he weakly attempted to crawl away. "So you survived?" They said, "Well I suppose not everything can run perfectly smooth, can it?"

Neptune remained silent, due in both parts to his injured trachea, and his unwillingness to give what he now realized would be his killer the satisfaction of a response.

Instead of any witty comment as he'd expected however, he instead felt a light pressure on the back of his neck and turned his head slightly to look up at his captor.

Gone was the sadistic smile they'd worn before as he tumbled down the stairs, instead replaced by look of mild disappointment, "You know, it's funny." They said, increasing pressure to his neck and forcing his head firmly to the ground, "You weren't actually meant to be here. Your idiot friend was."

Neptune slowly felt his breathing begin to constrict as the killer continued to increase the pressure around his neck, "That dust-damned thief was supposed to take the invitation and HE was supposed to be in your place."

"Course, you'll do just fine for now." They added, "Pity. You just HAD to see the Ice Queen though, didn't you?." They said, suddenly snapping their foot to the left and severing the boy's spinal column.

For a brief moment they looked at the boy's corpse with a small semblance of pity for the misplaced boy before they walked away, "Three down." They said, anticipation and excitement returning to their voice, "Just six to go. Who's next?" They wondered aloud, walking away from the broken body without so much as a second thought.

* * *

><p><em>Eight little hunters, two lost to the heavens<em>

_One stumbled along and then there were seven_

* * *

><p><strong>Neptune's 'dancing' skills. Am I right? Yeah, I know. It was weak. I'll be honest, Sun was initially meant to be in this story instead of Neptune but I couldn't fit him into the poem very well without it being obvious where he was in the poem and Neptune… He fit but not very well.<strong>

**In hindsight I wish I had replaced them with someone like say Jaune where there was more material to work with in terms of story events that I could refer to in the poem and story. **

**Really what most delayed this chapter was sadly that it was 'Neptune's' chapter so to speak and it being his made it terribly difficult to find a way to write in a way that I was satisfied with. Even this chapter that I'm posting I'm not entirely happy with but I feel that if I don't post it I won't be able to move on. In summary, sorry for the MASSIVE delay.**


End file.
